Due to coronavirus, a worldwide economic crisis is lurking in the corners. A lockdown was ordered, and people need to stay at home. Businesses are required to close down for a while too. Other operations transitioned the entire workforce into a work-from-home arrangement.
That means companies and industries cannot just wait out this pandemic. Businesses need to adapt more than ever to remain relevant—an entirely new form of distancing. If it means operating online, offering new value, and finding new ways to engage with the consumers, then so be it – may it be on your website, social media pages, or an app.
How to do just that? As a business, how can you protect your website’s overall performance, including the traffic and ranking that you’ve built over the years with white hat link building services?
Protecting your site’s traffic and ranking during the pandemic
1) Check the extent of the impact of coronavirus
By this time, you should’ve already checked your Google Analytics. Is there a significant shift let’s say since the first week of March? If there are changes, are they seasonable or a one-time big time? Or is traffic stable from December to March 2020? Which keywords are performing well and which are not? How’s your conversion rate?
Overall, the same with the Google core updates, there are winners and losers. The pandemic has created winners in websites that are medical or healthcare-related, remote works, DIY crafts (homemade hand sanitizers), preparedness, downloadable educational materials, and even e-commerce websites like online grocery retailers.
And then there are losers such as travel and e-commerce websites. For the latter, the traffic is pretty stable, but conversion rates are generally low. The reason is that in these worrying times, the consumers are not ready or willing to spend their money on the non-essentials. You should seek the suggestions of your SEO services provider immediately.
It all boils down to making sense of what you see on your GA dashboard. Comparing the results with the last three months or the same period the previous year will yield the results you are looking for. In this way, you will know how deeply coronavirus has affected your website and act accordingly.
2) Create a content hub dedicated to coronavirus
What this pandemic teaches us is that it does not matter what industry or sector you belonged to. What matters is how to contribute to making the people more informed.
The lockdown compelled the people to consume content anyway, how, where, and when they want. The quality of content, however, widely varies. For one, fake news proliferates online without the people knowing that they actually and shared one. The spread of lies is as fast as the spread of coronavirus diseases (CoViD-19) indeed.
Break that chain by publishing accurate and verifiable content. It is your job to make sure that the content you share with your audience is share-worthy—something you won’t feel ashamed sharing with others yourself.
Of course, you cannot go wrong with statistics of coronavirus in your country. The same goes for where and how people can donate to various organizations or frontliners; the protocols to follow and what the likely consequences are; facts about coronavirus; and WHO statements about the pandemic.
You can also choose to divert the attention of the people on where to get information from so they won’t be victimized by fake news. Better yet, remind them of the necessity of fact-checking first before sharing information online. Again, your WordPress website or social pages are your best ally.
You can be formal or informal about it. Contextually, formal means anything related to coronavirus like the above, while informal means the subsets of the issues. For example, activities to do while on lockdown, recipes to whip in the kitchen, and DIY crafts for the kids to kill boredom.
While at it, refrain from sharing branded content particularly those that encourage the people to buy your products or services that are no way related to coronavirus. Don’t be tone-deaf (literally means don’t be insensitive or idiotic) when it comes to the predicament of the people.
3) Audit the digital marketing strategy while on lockdown
Yet another vital realization is that your overall digital marketing strategy needs an audit. Think of these times as an opportunity to rethink the entire plan. What have you done right in the last three months? What could be improved? Do you need to experiment with a new format like a live stream, podcast, or webinar? How can you pandemic-proof your business in the future? How is the competition doing?
Look at various aspects of your digital marketing, from content evaluation down to technical SEO audit. Scrutinize whether these elements are in tiptop shape or ruining the user experience (UX). You must understand that your business—not just your website’s performance—will bounce back quickly after the pandemic.
As a diligent business, you can always minimize the economic impact of the spread of coronavirus. You cannot and should not let the pandemic stop you from providing value to the customers. Think of this as an opportunity to rethink your strategy – from content writing down to WordPress development.
